Facts about holidaying
in Greenland (part 7/10)
The regions of Greenland
Updated February 1996
This information is provided by Greenland Tourism a/s, the official tourist board of Greenland
About Disko Bay and Northern Greenland
About Qaanaaq
About Central Greenland
About South Greenland
About the East Coast
Map of Greenland
Upernavik
Upernavik means "spring square". The dark period lasts from November through February, while the midnight sun can be experienced during the period from May to August. There is a total of 2,400 residents in the municipality, 1,300 of whom live in the 11 satellite villages. The principal livelihood is whaling, sealing and fishing.
Like all towns in Greenland, the town has a hospital, shop and church as well as a school. The local museum is housed in the old church and school building.
The town has no accommodation facilities for visitors. Bring your own tent!
Uummannaq
Uummannaq Municipality has 2,600 residents, 1,200 of whom are in 7 villages. Fishing, particularly for Greenland halibut, is the main livelihood, and in most villages there are small-scale production plants. In terms of weather, Uummannaq is in one of the country's most stable fjords. This is the place in Greenland with the greatest number of sunshine hours recorded during the summer.
One of the great attractions in Uummannaq is the many whales that can be spotted in the fjord areas, as well as the fact that the dry climate prevents people being plagued by mosquitoes in
the town.
The town's impressive name means "The Heart-like" and refers to the mountain looming up behind the town.
Ilulissat
Tourism is an essential industry in Ilulissat, besides fishing, and more particularly shrimping.
The glacier and icebergs are the all-dominating central attraction together with a plentiful assortment of excursions. The town's name also refers to the nearby ice fjord and means "The Icebergs".
Of the town's 4,600 residents, 600 live in the four surrounding villages. The arctic dark starts in December, but on account of the high mountains the sun cannot be seen anywhere in the town until February. The midnight sun shines all night long in the period between May and July.
Qasigiannguit
The name Qasigiannguit means "Small Variegated Seals" and refers to the traditionally fine sealing available in the area.
The population numbers 1,700, 100 of whom live in the only village of Ikamiut.
The town was founded as the first colony in northern West Greenland and is of great importance today for shrimping in Disko Bay. The flat landscape enveloping the town offers fine opportunities for hiking in the summer and dog-sled riding and cross-country skiing in the winter.
Kangaatsiaq
Kangaatsiaq means "The Fairly Small Foothill", and is located between the larger towns of Aasiaat and Sisimiut. 600 people live in Kangaatsiaq, and the 4 villages have a total population of 900.
Fishing and sealing are the main industry, and this has left its mark on the multicolored town, where sealskins are left to dry all over the place.
The town has no hotels or restaurants, just two municipal guesthouses offering overnight accommodation.
As in most other towns, the community center is the midpoint of cultural activities such as screening of films, dances and suchlike.
Aasiaat
The town of Aasiaat lies on an island in a beautiful skerry area with plentiful fauna. The area is ideal for boating in both large craft and kayaks. However, the climate is harsher than in towns on the interior of Disko Bay.
Aasiaat is an active town. There is a large modern shrimp and fish production plant, a shipyard and a hide-sewing workshop. The town is also the educational center of North Greenland, with a grammar school, vocational school, boarding school and a school for the mentally retarded.
The town is the fourth-largest in the country, with a population in the municipality as a whole of 3,600, 300 of whom live in the town's two villages.
In translation, the town's Greenlandic name means "The Spiders".
Qeqertarsuaq
The most important industry in the town is fishing and sealing, though whaling used once to play an important role. The population is just under 1,200, about 100 of whom live in the town's only village of Kangerluk.
Qeqertarsuaq is a quiet but colorful little town. The natural scenery is rather different from the rest of Disko Bay. The town is surrounded by high mountains covered by glaciers and tall luxuriant valleys and is rich in Greenlandic flora. A special summer experience can be a dog-sled ride on the top of the island in the hue of the midnight sun.
The town's name is also the name of the actual island, meaning "The Great Island".
Avanersuaq/Qaanaaq
The name of the municipality reflects its remoteness - it means "The Far North". The municipality is the world's northernmost inhabited area with 800 inhabitants, 300 of whom live in the 4 villages.
The area has been known as a base and destination for expeditions through the ages - with household names such as Peary and Rasmussen - and most recently in 1993, when two hunters on dog-sleds drove from Greenland to Alaska in the sled-tracks of Knud Rasmussen. Today, its livelihood - and the basis of its existence - is hunting for marine mammals and birds.
Sisimiut
Greenland's second-largest town with 5,000 inhabitants, 100 of whom live in two villages.
Sisimiut lies immediately to the north of the Arctic Circle, but natural conditions around the town prevent the midnight sun being seen.
The mainstay industry in the town is trawling, though minor fishing and whaling are also of great importance.
There is a great commitment to the tourist industry, inter alia hiking trips from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut, dog-sled riding and skiing and a very active cultural effort. Sisimiut - "The People at the Foxholes" - is also the site of Greenland's only outdoor swimming pool - though it is only open during the summer.
Kangerlussuaq
Situated near the bottom of a 170 kilometers long fiord of the same name, Kangerlussuaq means "The long fiord". In English the place and the fiord is known as Sondrestrom, in Danish as Søndre Strømfjord.
Established as the US Sondrestrom Air Base in 1942 during the second world war (closed down 1992), Kangerlusssuaq today is the main international and domestic airport in Greenland.
Approx. 325 people live in Kangerlussuaq, which is directly under home rule government administration, outside the municipality system.
Maniitsoq
The hilly terrain in and around the town explains the name "The Uneven".
Commercial life in the town is dominated by fishing, while whaling has never been of major importance.
KAPITAQ is Greenland's only company manufacturing leisure clothing, workclothes and maritime clothing, tailored and geared to the climatic conditions in Greenland.
The population is slightly over 4,000, the other 850 living in the 3 villages.
Nuuk
With its 13,000 inhabitants, the capital Nuuk (Godthåb in Danish), meaning "The Headland", has twice as many residents as the country's second-largest town of 5,000, and in future years the suburb of Nuussuaq alone will develop into the second-largest town.
As a capital, it is not only the administrative headquarters of Greenland's Home Rule, but also the home of a large number of community-owned institutions and educational establishments, as well as large cultural institutions: the National Museum, the Provincial Archives, the National Theater and the National Library.
The nationwide media, two newspapers, radio and TV, also have their main editorial offices in Nuuk.
The principal attractions include Greenland's National Museum, with its well-preserved mummies from the 1400s, and Santa's Post Office, which is now known around the world - well, Santa Claus does live in Greenland, after all!
Godthåb Fjord - the world's second-largest fjord complex - is also worth a visit, whether on foot, by boat or by helicopter.
Paamiut
Almost 2,600 people live in Paamiut Municipality, 300 of whom live in the town's only, but possibly Greenland's richest village, Arsuk.
Paamiut can be approached by sea all year round, which is an advantage for shipping and fishing alike. Just like many other towns in the country, industry in the municipality focuses primarily on fishing and associated processing. Paamiut means "The People at the Estuary" (i.e. the mouth of the Kvane Fjord) and the area is known for the widespread occurrence of white-tailed eagles.
Qaqortoq
Qaqortoq means "The White". Field ice dominates, with ice floe upon ice floe, and during certain spring and summer months, this can be a real inconvenience to sailing in southern Greenlandic
waters.
The town is one of South Greenland's largest, with a population of 3,600, 500 of whom live in the 3 villages.
Qaqortoq is an educational town - apart from the folkeskole (primary and lower secondary school), it also plays host to a grammar school, commercial college, workers' college and a technical and vocational school.
Qaqortoq is also the home base of the internationally known fur company Great Greenland.
The climate in South Greenland is warmer than the rest of the country, and impressive gardens outside people's homes are not an unusual sight.
From Qaqortoq, there are good opportunities for going up the fjords to the sheep-farming stations, and not far from the town is the agricultural station of Upernaviarsuk, where sheep-farmers are trained, breeding trials are carried out and there is an experimental market garden.
Narsaq
Narsaq has a population of 2,150, 1,800 being in Narsaq, and 350 distributed between the two villages and the airport in Narsarsuaq.
The principal livelihood of the town is based on pre-processing of sheep-farming and fish products.
Another important workplace in the town is the fur factory called "Eskimopels", which produces for both export and the domestic market. But sheep-farming and domesticated reindeer herding are the typical hallmarks of the Narsaq area. Narsaq is located in sunny South Greenland, with a mild arctic summer climate and experiences rooted in its prehistoric past close at hand to the town.
The town is scattered across a large, flat area at the foot of the high mountain Qaqarsuaq; the name means "The Plain".
Nanortalik
The town's most important industry is fishing and sealing, though sheep-breeding is also practiced. On the island of Uunartoq in Nanortalik Municipality, it is possible to bathe in a hot spring containing water at 35 degrees Celsius - and indeed this is a favorite excursion spot.
Greenland's only natural woodland is situated in "Qinngua Valley" and is certainly worth a visit.
The Nanortalik area is characterized by imposing mountains, to which any climber cannot help but be attracted, but there are also ample opportunities for the "commonplace" hill-walker. The name of the town means "Place of the Bears" and the town has a population of 2,700, 1,200 of whom live in the 5 villages.
Ammassalik
The townspeople call their town "Tasiilaq", which in east Greenlandic means "Something Resembling a Lake". The Municipality bears the title of "Ammassalik", which means "The Place with Ammassater" - referring to the capelin fish that abound here.
Ethnically and linguistically, the population also differs from the West Greenlanders, a fact particularly reflected in their peculiar culture.
The industry is hunting, particularly for seals, small whales and polar bears, while there is no actual fishing production as such.
The high mountains are well suited to ski sports and there is a ski lift in the town. Otherwise, the area is very attractive to hikers - particularly the more demanding variety!
The 6 villages are populated with a total of 1,400 people, to which can be added the 1,500 in the actual town.
Ittoqqortoormiit
"Those that Live where there is Most Peat" is situated at the very northernmost point of the East Coast, where hunting again plays a crucial role. It is a small municipality with 540 residents, 480 of whom live in the actual town. On one side, the town borders on the world's largest fjord; on the other, the world's largest national park, and the area has an altogether unique animal life.
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